Bread-cutting device.



PATENTED SEPT. 8, 1908.

N. M. ANDERSEN. BREAD CUTTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10,1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVE/i TOR JVizeZs/Kflndersen.

I1 TTORNEYS THE NORRIS PETsRs ca. wAsnmcroN. DUE

No. 898,163. PATENTED SEPT. s, 1908.

N. M. ANDERSEN.

BREAD CUTTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

f IIIIIIII F2310 1 0 Z y 5 I T' a] i i WITNESSES mezs/i igwen ATTORNEYSms NORRIS P srzRs cm, WASHINGTON, v, c.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

NIELS M. ANDERSEN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

BREAD-CUTTING DEVICE.

Application filed September 10, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NIELs M. ANDERsEN, a citizen of the United States,and residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bread-CuttingDevices, of which the following is a specification, such as will enablethose skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention is an improvement on the bread cutting device describedand claimed in U. S. Letters Patent granted to me January 3, 1905,Serial No. 779,110, and the ob ject thereof is to improve the said breadcutting device so as to facilitate the operation thereof and render theconstruction more simple and effective; a further object being toprovide a bread cutting device in which a loaf of bread is automaticallyfed forward a predetermined distance at each movement of the cutter.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, ofwhich the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate partsof my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters ineach of the views, and in which;

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved bread cutting device; Fig. 2 atransverse section on the line 22 of Fig. 1 Fig. 3 an end view lookingin the direction of the arrow 3 of Fig. 1 Fig. 4 a longitudinal sectionon the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 and on the line 44 of Fig. 1; Fi 5 a plan viewof a part of one form of a feet chain I may employ in my improved breadcutting device; Fig. 6 a side view thereof; Fig. 7 an end view of acarrier or feed plate which I em loy; Fig. 8 a longitudinal section ofsaid p ate; Fig. 9 a plan and end View of one link of the chain shown inFigs. 5 and 6; and, Fig. 10 a partial section on the line 1010 of Fig.2.

In the practice of my invention, as shown in the drawing, I rovide atray a which is rectangular or V-s aped in cross section and open at thetop and preferably open at both ends, and one end of which is providedwith a support I) having legs 6 and to the other end of which is securedan irregular V-shaped frame or support 0 having legs a and a curved orcircular top or crown portion 0 and the back of which is extended toform an arm 0 havin a segmental slot or opening 0 formed partia ly insaid arm and partially in the top or crown piece 0 The top or crownpiece 0 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 8, 1908.

Serial No. 392,118.

is also provided with an upwardly directed member 0, to which is pivoteda link 0 which is also pivoted to a bard, to which is secured a blade e,and the bar d is provided at one end with a handle (1 and at the oposite end with a pin, screw or bolt (1 w iich passes through the slot0" in the top or crown piece 0 and is free to move therein.

Pivoted at e in the back portion of the frame or support 6 is adownwardly directed supplemental lever f having an upwardly directed armf and a backwardly and up-- wardly directed arm f 3 which is shorterthan the arm f and the arm f is provided with holes f and the arm f isprovided with a backwardly and upwardly directed extension f Pivoted tothe arm f at f is a lever 9 comprising a longer arm g which extendsupwardly and forwardly and a shorter arm g which extends downwardlyandbackwardly, and the arm g is pivoted to the arm f of the lever f bymeans of a detachable screw, pin or bolt g".

Secured to the back of the side a of the tray (1 adjacent to the endsupport or frame 0 are bearings h and it through which is assed a shafth to which is secured a curved arm 71 which projects outwardly of theframe or support 0 and is provided with a segmental slot 11 throughwhich the end of the lever f asses and in which said end of said leveris free to move, and the arm 1) is provided with a circular head throughwhich the shaft 71. passes, and mounted on the shaft k is a ratchetwheel h", and the head of the arm 2' is provided with a downwardlydirected projection i in which is mounted a spring operated pawl 11which operates in connection with the said ratchet wheel.

Secured to the end portion of the shaft its adjacent to the bottomportion'of the tray is a sprocket wheel 3' which extends through acorresponding slot j in the side a of the tray and at the opposite endof the side a of the tray is a support j in which is mounted a wheel jThe support 7' is provided with longitudinal slots through which arepassed screws or bolts j which secure said support to the side a of thetray, and by means of this construction the said support is adjustedlongitudinally of the tray.

Mounted on the sprocket wheel 7' and on the wheel is a drive chain 7cand the inner or front side of the side a of the tray is provided with alongitudinal slot'or groove m through which the said chain passes. The

- adapted to engage the loaf ofbread.

said front or inner surface of the side a of the tray a is provided withgrooves n parallel with the groove m through which the drive chain 7cpasses, and I also employ a carrier or feed plate 0 shown in detail inFigs. 7 and 8 having side flanges 0 adapted to enter the grooves n andprovided centrally of its underside with teeth 0 adapted to engage thelinks of the drive chain 70. The tray (1 is also provided at the righthand end thereof with an extension a which is connected with the frameor support 0 and is similar in form in cross section to said tray orsupport, and, in practice, I place in the extension a of said tray amovable block a In practice, or in the o eration of this device, it issecured to a tab le or other support in the position shown in Figs. 1and 2 and a loaf of bread is placed in the tray and rests on the plate0, and said plate 0 is provided with outwardly directed prongs or teeth0 It will be understood, of course, that the end of the loaf of bread isheld in such position that at each downward movement of the knife aslice of bread will be cut off and at each upward movement of the knifethe loaf of bread will be moved forwardly one step or a distance equalto the thickness of the slice of bread desired. The arm f of the lever franges upwardly and backwardly and in one of its positions crosses thesegmental slot 0 while the arm g of the lever g ranges upwardly andforwardly and in one of its positions also crosses said slot, and theend of said arm is curved as shown in Fig. 2 and is adapted to beoperated upon by the head of the pivot pin or bolt (Z which passesthrough said slot and with which the bar d which carries the knife 6 isconnected.

Suppose the knife to be in its highest position as shown in Fig. 2, if,now, the said knife be depressed, the end of the bolt or screw (1 willstrike the end of the arm f and a slice of bread will be cut off, and inthis operation the arm f is depressed and the arm raised. In the upwardmovement of the blade 6 the arm g is depressed and the arm f raised, andin this operation the lever f, which is operated by the downwardlydirected extension 9 of the lever g, operating in connection with thearm '5 operates said arm to turn the shaft 7L3 and the pawl 17 operatingin connection with the ratchet wheel h prevents the backward movement ofsaid shaft and the result of this operation is to advance the loaf ofbread one step and at the next downward movement of the knife anotherslice of bread is cut off and this operation may be repeated as often asdesired.

It will be understood that at the beginning of the cutting of slicesfrom the loaf of bread,

. the block 0, is placed closely adjacent to the frame or support 0, andas the operation of cuttlng off slices from the said loaf proceeds,

the said slices rest against the block a and said block is graduallypushed to the right and holds said slices in an upright position and thesaid slices of bread may be removed from the extension (1 of the tray (1at any time and the block (1 replaced adjacent to the frame or support0.

It will be observed that the feed chain 76 passes longitudinally aroundthe side a of the tray or and is movable only in the direction of thearrow 0:, Fig. 1, in the operation of the said device as hereinbeforedescribed, and said movement is an intermittent movement, the extentthereof depending upon the point at which the extension of the lever gis connected with the arm f of the lever f.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 9 inclusive I have shown a form of feed chain whichmay be substituted for the feed chain 7c and said chain consists of twoseparate detachably connected links 1 and s. The links 9 are oblong inform and the links 8 comprise a central transversely arranged portion 8at each side of which are neck portions 8 and, in practice, the necks sare passed through the links 1" and project as shown at s and s and saidprojections or one of them may be formed into prongs as shown in Fig. 9to engage the loaf of bread when it is placed thereon, so that said loafof bread will be fed forward in the direction of the frame or sup ort cas the knife, comprising the bar d and b ade 6, is operated, and withthis form of feed chain the plate 0 will not be necessary.-

It will be apparent that this device may be used for slicing or cuttingmany other articles as well as bread, and, within the scope of theappended claims, changes in and modifications of the construction hereindescribed may be made without departing form the spirit of my inventionor sacrificing its ad vantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A bread cutting device, comprising a tray provided at one end with an0 en main framehaving an upwardly directe member and backwardly directedarm, said member and said arm being provided with a curved slot, a linkpivoted to a support at the to of said member, a knife bar pivoted tosaid ink and provided with a pin movable in said slot, a shaft mountedtransversely of the back of the tray adjacent to said frame or sup ort,a sprocket wheel connected with said s aft, another sprocket wheelmounted at the opposite endof the tray, a feed chain mounted on saidwheels and'passing around and longitudinally of the backside of thetray, and movable in a longitudinal groove in the front of the said backside of the tray, a curved and slotted arm loosely mounted on saidshaft, a ratchet wheel connected with said shaft, a spring pawl carriedby said arm and acting on said ratchet wheel, a lever pivoted in saidframe above said shaft and operating in the slot in said arm, said leverbeing provided with an upwardly and backwardly directed extension andrearwardly thereof with a backwardly and upwardly directed extensionwhich is shorter than the first named extension, a supplemental leverpivoted to the upwardly and backwardly directed extension of the firstnamed lever, centrally thereof and provided with a forwardly andupwardly directed arm, and with a backwardly and downwardly directedmember, and means for adjustably connecting the last named member of thesupplemental lever with the backwardly and upwardly directed extensionof the first named lever, both of said levers being adapted to beoperated by the pin or bolt connected with the knife and operating inthe curved slot formed in the main frame and the backwardly and upwardlydirected arm thereof.

2. A bread cutting device, comprising an oblong tray V-shaped in crosssection, an open main frame connected with one end of said tray andprovided in the rear top portion thereof with a curved slot, a linkpivoted in the top portion of the main frame, a knife pivoted to saidlink and provided at its front end with a handle, and at its rear endwith a pin or bolt movable in said curved slot, a shaft mountedtransversely of the back side of the tray adjacent to the main frame, asprocket wheel on said shaft, another sprocket wheel mounted at theopposite end of the tray, a feed chain mounted on said wheels andpassing around and longitudinally of the back side of the tray, a leverpivoted in the main frame above said shaft and extending in the samedirection, said lever being provided with an upwardly and backwardlydirected extension and rearwardly thereof with a backwardly and upwardlydirected extension shorter than the first named extension, asupplemental lever pivoted to the upwardly and backwardly directedextension of the first named lever and provided with a forwardly andbackwardly directed arm and a backwardly and downwardly directed memberadapted to be adjustably connected with the backwardly and upwardlydirected extension of the first named lever, both of said levers beingadapted to be operated by the pin or bolt connected with the knife andmovable in said curved slot, and means whereby the operation of saidlever by the upward and downward movement of said knife will rotate saidshaft in one direction step by step.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname in presence of the subscribing witnesses this 6th day of May, 1907.

NIELS M. ANDERSEN.

Witnesses O. E. MULREANY, A. WORDEN GIBBs.

